Knitting machine



Nov. 6, 1951 A. BELFORD ETAL 2,574,009

- KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 20, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 INVENTORS ALEXA/M05? BELFORD AND F? A. KUSS F/G- BY I Jgflgdfi-figl A TO NEYS.

NOV. 6,195] BELFORD ET AL v 2,574,009

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 20, 1949 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 INVENTORS ALEXANgg/P BELFORD FR A. KUSS FIG. /B. BY v ,0 4 ATTORN s.

Patented Nov. 6, 1951 N. H;, assignors: to 'Scott .&,. Williams,..1ncorpo.- rated; Laconia,.N.;H., acorporationaof Massachusetts 'Al'ipu at'ion-Auguse'zo, 1949', Serial-NoQ11 1,484

. 1;, Thisinvention relates to-knitting machinesand has particular reference-to take-up means: involved-inthe productionof stockings-in a continuous" string in the. formation or which various sections are knittedundertensionfor the purpose of proper stitch formation." In par-tic ular; theinvention relates to take-up'me'ans'provided" for the knittingof" stockings containing inturned welts. a i

Individual separate-"stockings may beknit starting; u'r'ithbare needles in accordancewith the guocedure" and utilizing such instrumentalitiesas are'disclosed' in the patentto R. "W; Scott No. 13282 9585, dated October-29,1918. Inaccordance with this procedure, which need not berepeatedherein in detail, a non-ravelling-selvage is first produced and thereupon loops are transferred to transfer elements which holdthe initialcourses duringthe knittin of a hem-or'welt, there-being produced in the" formation of this welta sufficient'numbenaf' courses to secure the desired length thereof. Atthe completion of 16. Claims.' (oil 66,-]153) for-knitting and providing. a. connection. between successive stockings but frail enough, to permit the various finished stockings. to; be: tornapartor. separated; Accordingly; it. ispossible. to; fe the continuous string of. stockings; at. all times towa take-up remote; from the-point. of knitting, yDllIil'lg the-time. that, the; welt; or hemis: bein knitted such a remote take-up. is incapable of exertingtension on. the; welt; section 011 the. fabric since thelast course ofafahlticunderythe in..-

fluenceof the take-up will have. been". removed fromthe needles. and: held: by: the transfer: elethe welt the loops which were held bythe trans- I fer elements are returned to the needles and knitting is resumed tying the welt into loops at the beginning of the leg so that a doubled or inturned' welt is produced. The welt fold as it is being formed and thereafter has generally been carried" away" from the needles merelyby gravity with only initialassistance by a presser such as shown in said Scott patent. The foregoing method has been quite satisfactory-but it is has been'reco'gnizedthat more uniform and perfect stitches might be formed if tension was applied between the stitches being knitted and otherspreviously knitted. Furthermore, more satisfactory results would be obtained if the tension could be applied through a substantial length of the fabric. 1 I In accordance with the present invention suitable-means for applying tension to the fabric is provided through the use of" take-up rolls which may be caused to stop or to advance at varying speeds as determ-inedby control mechanism, thus to apply a" uniform but variable tension to the fabric.

It will'loe obv-ious that when knitting-is begun on bare needle's therecan be'no s'ati'sfactory connection between the initial courses and a take ments. The. invention; accordingly provides a: tube located: inside: ofi'theneedle: cylinder and stationary with respect to: a; revolving cylinder (or rotating with respect to a, stationary cylinder) this tubehaving at the. inside; of its. upper; end one or more, bafliest having: camming; action on the welt to effect movement of the: fabric as it is: produced smoothlyaway from the: needles and their cooperating sinkers in such a manner that neither distorted: nor unsightly stitches will be produced;

The general objects of: the. invention. will. be:-

come apparent from the. foregoing. discussion.

These and other objectsrparti'cularly relating to details: of construction. and operation, and the accomplishment" of, these objects; will become more apparent upon consideration ofthe: following description read: inconjunction with the ac;- companying drawings in which:

Fig; 1A. is; an elevation. partially in section of. the upper portion. of a; knitting machine. having devices provided in: accordance with the invention;

Figure 1B is an elevation of the lower portion of the. same machine, Figure 118 being, in effect, a lower continuation of- Figure 1A; I

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view showing in detail the construction; of the means for taking up the welt; and.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the matter illustrated in Figuref2 showing: in addition a Presser of the general type illustrated. in said Scott patent.

' The figures show only those elements of a rotary cylinder circular knitting machine as -are required for an understanding-of the invention. It will, of course, be understood that this Inachine contains. conventional elements well known to the art and, in particular, reference maybe made to said Scott patent for a more completeshowing and description of those-elements particularly concerned with welt formation. [As will be apparent hereafter various features of the invention are applicable to machines of the stationary cylinder-rotary cam type but for clarity and consistency of the description there will hereafter be referred to only a machine of the rotary cylinder type.

The needle cylinder illustrated at 2 is slotted to carry needles 4 with which cooperate conventional sinkers 6. A rotary dial 8 carries transfer elements [8 of the type described in said Scott patent. Relative movements of conventional character are imparted to these various instru.

mentalities in conventional fashion. A cylinder I2 which does not rotate is provided below the needle cylinder and serves to support it through bearings l4, the cylinder l2 being provided with a bracket I6 arranged to be acted on by a lever I8 having a follower movable by suitable cams on the main cam drum 22 of the machine to effect axial movements of the needle cylinder for the purpose of adjusting the lengths of stitches drawn by the needles by producing relative movement between the needle cylinder and the needle actuating cams.

Located within the needle cylinder is a tube 24 which is held at its lower end in a flange 26 secured by screws 28 in the upper end of the non-rotating cylinder 12. The flange 26 may be axially adjusted with respect to the cylinder I2 and after being secured thereto will partake of the axial movements of both cylinder l2 and needle cylinder 2. The tube 24, by reason of its mounting, does not rotate and the fabric as it is formed passes down through this tube, ro-. tating therein. It will be noted that the upper end 36 of the tube 24 is flared outwardly forming substantially a smooth continuation of the inner surface of the needle cylinder assembly.

' At the lower portion of the machine there is provided a take-up assembly indicated generally at 32 and having an upper bearing at 34 and a lower bearing at 36 in the machine frame. The assembly includes a fabric receptacle indicated at 38. A gear 48 carried by the assembly meshes with a pinion 42 on the lower end of an upright shaft'44 which at its upper end carries a pinion 46 meshing with the gear 48 through which the needle cylinder is driven in conventional fashion. The arrangement is such that the take-up assembly rotates in unison with the needle cylinder but since the two are connected through the external shaft 44 it is possible to have the nonrotating cylinder l2 between them as illustrated. A guide 50 forming part of the assembly 32 mounts a slide 52 which carries at its lower end a cross head 54 on which are pivoted pawls 58 and 60 urged into engagement with ratchet wheels 62 and 64 by a spring 6|. A spring 56 urges the slide 52 upwardly. The ratchet wheels 62 and Marc carried by theshafts of rollers 66 and 68. The rollers are urged together by a spring arrangement indicated at 72. These rollers may be surfaced in various fashions to secure proper take-up 'of the particular fabric being knit; for example, one of the rollers may be covered with smooth fabric and the other with corduroy, pile fabric or the like, or one of the rollers may be cloth surfaced and the other formed-of corrugated wood, or other arrangements may be used, such as the use of a pair of metallic rollers. A detent Hi prevents reverse movement of one of the ratchets this generally sufiicing to insure maintenance of tension though, if desired, detentsmay be associated with both ratchets. V

. A cam- 14 is carried by a lever I6 pivoted to the 4 frame at I8 and urged by a spring 88 to bring a. follower pin 82 into contact with suitable cams such as 84 and 86 on the main cam drum 22. The cam arrangement serves to position the lever 76 and its cam '14 to secure various conditions. If the cam 14 is in its uppermost position the slide 52 will miss it during rotation and consequently will remain in its uppermost position such as defined by the location of the cross head 54 against the top flange of the receptacle 38. Accordingly, no advancing movements would then be given to the rollers 66 and 68 with the result that take-up action would not occur on the fabric. If, however, the cam 14 is lowered to .an extent determined by a cam such as 86 on the main cam drumthe slide 52 will be depressed uponeach rotation causing the pawls 58 and 68 its upper end so that the amount of tension may be varied and consequently with it, the take-up force applied to the fabric. It will be noted that with this setting of the cam 14 and by using the yielding arrangement provided by the spring 56 an undue amount of tensionon the fabric would prevent the upward movement of theslide 52 so that in the next rotation the slide might not be again depressed sufficiently to cause engagement by the pawls of new teeth on the ratchet wheels. The result, therefore; is to provide a take-up exerting at least on the average -a substantially uniform pull on the fabric determined by the setting of the spring 56..

Under some circumstances, however, an even greater tension is required and this may besecured by causing the cam 14 to be :still further lowered by a cam such as 84 on the main cam drum. Under these, conditions the normal move ment of the slide is such as to cause the pawls to be moved downwardly to the extent of two new teeth during each rotation. As a'result, the spring 56 will be still further tensioned toan average condition corresponding approximately to the increased displacement occurring due to the increased movement of the slide 52.

It will be seen from the above that the tension may be either wholly, removed or may be made to exist to varyingdegrees (even greater than that corresponding to the double tooth movement as described above) depending upon the portions of the stocking which are being knit. During the formation of the welt, for example, since the stitches at the beginning of the welt are being held it is desirable to eliminate the take-up action. The same is generally true at the time stitches are held during the formation of heels and toes during reciprocation, this being particularly desirable in the formation of the heel so as not to stretch the instep loops which are being held and which, if stretched; might produce a noticeable line across the instep "of the stocking. Limit of tension may alsooccur by slippageof the take-up rolls relative-to the fabric. Y 7 v If desired, the take-up rolls may be positively driven by cam action on pawls drivingratchets secured to the rolls. In such case limit of ten sion will be secured by slippage of the rolls.

Reference may now be made particularly to Figures 2 and 3. In the inside of the upper end seams tube 2.4: there is secur d; a. fin Q8" extending inwardln and. pro ide with smo th. rolled edge. This edge of th into-.thesu f ece of; the ube n smooth fashion.

this; mer er preven nswcet hi e fabr on .1 the fin; durin r reciprocation. A, pressesv 94 which: corresponds to the'rress r: B QinSoQt Patent 1,282,958. .andwhich may. be imilarly controlled has a.;noS.iti.on1 -s;uch asijillus ated in Figure above. the level or. the.- top'of he: tu e- As anindication ofthe position 0f. th 88 there indicated at aethe. apnmximateradial locationof.. the center of the, sinker: cam. and at 9.8.- the, approximate. radiallocation ofthe lowest point of-thefstitch cam: Ithas;beencfoundithet the .fin: operates most "effectively if it is, set. at

an. angle of approximately 42 with; respectsj to a horizontal. plane. and extends inwardlya ahout.

%, to 11 inch from the inner cylindrical wallet the tube- 24;

"The'fin 88 performs-its. function during-the knitting of the-welt, "?Iheinward movementof the-fabric forming thewelt is begun :bytheaction of'thc presser- 94 (on equivalentlyv byuse'of: ,an

time the previously "formed stocking, with its toe located in the upper end of the needle Cylf inder, is under tension and if special provisions 'werenot made the fabric loop, afterthe presscr 94- ceased to be 'efiective would be held against the'inside of thetube- 2-4 and would not feed downwardly between the stocking and the-tube to make way for-the"- courses' newly-formed; -iBy reason of the provision of the finfBB, however, a frictional cammingaction is exertedon this loop of welt-fabric tending to-urgeit downwardly as, it. rotates counterclockwise relative to the fin and tube and thisdownward movement-takes place despite the pressure of the toe-"inside the loop of fabric; It has been found that thefin is. thoroughly effective in producing this action to cause the well; to feed downwardly thereby clearingthe space immediately inside the needles and sinkers. I V

"What is claimed is: g

1.. In acireular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, needles; slidable in. said cylinder, means associated with'said needles for holding stitches during the formationof a turned welt, a cylinder located inside the needle cylinder, there being relative rotation between the needle. cylinder and the last mentioned cylinder, andra fin carriedwby the last mentioned cylinder, acting: to cam inwardly and downwardly fabric constituting a turned welt. I

I 2; In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, needles slidabl'e in saidcylinder, means associated with said needles for holding stitches during the formation of a turned welt, a cylinder located inside the needle cylinder, there being relative rotation between the needle cylinder and the last mentioned cylinder, and a fin carried by the last mentioned cylinder acting to cam inwardly and downwardly fabric constituting a turned welt, said fin having a rounded inner edge. sloping in skew relationship with the axis of the cylinders. v

3. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, needles slidable in said cylinder, means ass ciat d-w thse dneed es for holdin stitches- ;du ing-t eforma ion of t ned w d .wa div and" downw rdlvfa c coast; turned-welt. sa d having-a1 roun ed inner. ed e slopin n s ew a ionship: i thexis of the cylinders, said edge merging with the tQR-fid fi of: the last mentioned cylinder.

' 4.;In a circular knitting, machine, a needle yl nder, needle .slidable in d ylinder means s ia d wi h said ne d es or ho ng titches durin the fo mation of: a tu n d lt, a ylinder located ins de the need e yli r there-be ng. rel -t ver at or tw nthe nee le l er an the last me t on dcylind r. and a 1 c riedzby the last. mention d: yl nd r ac n tocalminwar ly. and downwardly fab con titu in a tur ed welt s id fin-v havin za ound dinnerdge sl p n in skew relation-ship 'withthe. axis. o th cylinders, said edge. atits lower: end: mer ing tangentially with the inner surface or thelast: men, tioned cylinder.

5.. In a. circular-"knitting .machine; a needle cylinder, needles. slidable in said cylinder, means associated with. said needles for holding stitches during the formationof' a-turned Welt, a cylinder located inside-the needlecylinder, there-being relative rotation between the needle cylinderand the last mentioned cylinder, takeaup. means for pulling knitted fabric; downwardly throughwlth'e last mentioned cylinder, and a-fin carried by the last mentioned cylinder acting to cam inwardly and downwardly, about fabric of a'previously knit stocking, the fabric constituting 3, turned welt.

6. In a circular knitting machine, aflneedle cylinder, needle slidable in said cylinder, means associated with said needles for holding stitches during the formation of a turned welt, a cylinder located inside the needle cylinder, there being relative rotation between the needle cylinder and the last mentioned cylinder, take-up means for pulling knitted fabric downwardly throughthe last mentioned cylinder, and a fin carried-by the last mentioned'cylinder acting tocam inwardly and downwardly, about fabric of a previously knit stocking. the fabric constituting a turned welt, said fin having a rounded inner edge sloping in skew relationship with the axis of the cylinders.

'7, In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, needles slidable said cylinder, means associated with said needles for holding stitches during the formation ofa turned welt, a cylinder located inside the needle cylinder, there being relativeprotation between the needle cylinder and the last mentioned cylinder, take-up 'meanis 'for pullingknitted fabric downwardly through the last mentionedcylinder, and; a fin carriedby the last mentioned cylinder acting, to earn in.- wardly and downwardly, about fabric of a previously knit stocking, the fabric constituting a turned welt, said fin having a rounded inner edge sloping in skew relationship with the axis of the cylinders, said edge merging with the top edge of the last mentioned cylinder.

8. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, needles slidable in said cylinder, means associated with said needles for holding stitches during the formation of a turned welt, a cylinder located inside the needle cylinder, there being relative rotation between the needle cylinder and the last mentioned cylinder, take-up means for pulling knitted fabric downwardly through'the last mentioned cylinder acting to cam inwardly and downwardly, about fabric of a previously knit stocking, the fabric constituting 3, turned welt, said fin having a rounded inner edge sloping in skew relationship with the axis of the cylinder, said edge at its lower end merging tangentially with the inner surface of the lastmentioned cylinder.

9. In a' circular knitting machine, 'a needle cylinder, needles slidable'in said cylinder, means associated with said needles for holding stitches during the formation of a turnedwelt, a cylinder located inside the needle cylinder, there being relative rotation between the needle cylinder-and the last mentioned cylinder, take-up means for pulling knitted fabric downwardly through the last mentioned cylinder, a fin carried by the last mentioned cylinder acting to cam inwardly and downwardly, about fabric of a previously knit stocking, the fabric constituting a turned welt, and means controlling the pulling action of said take-up means.

10. In a circular knitting machine, a rotary needle cylinder, needles slidable in said cylinder,

means associated with saidneedles for holding stitches during the formation of a turned welt, a non-rotating cylinder located inside the needle .cylinderytake-up means for pulling knitted fabric'downwardly through the last mentioned cylinder; shafting geared externally to the needle cylinder and said take-up .means to drive the latter rotationally with the needle cylinder, and a fin carried by the last mentioned cylinder acting to cam inwardly and downwardly, about fabric. of a previously knit stocking, the fabric co-nstituting a turned welt.

11.:In a circular knitting machine, a rotary needle cylinder, needles slidable in said cylinder, means associated with said needles, for holding stitches during the formation 'of a'turned welt, a non-rotating cylinder located inside the. needle cylinder, take-up means for pulling knitted fabric downwardly through the last mentioned cylinder, shafting geared externally tothe needle cylinder and said take-up means to drive the latter rotationally with the needle cylinder,

needle cylinder, needles slidable in said cylinder,

means associated with said needlesfor holding stitches during the formation of a'tu rned. welt, a non-rotating cylinder located inside the needle cylinder, take-up means for pulling knitted fabric downwardly throughlthe last mentioned cylinder, shafting geared externally to the needle cylinder and said take-up means to drive the latter rotationally with the needle cylinder, and

means carried by the last mentioned cylinder acting to draw inwardly and downwardlyfabric constituting a turned welt: 13. In a circular knitting machine, a'rotary needle cylinder, needles slidable in said cylinder, means associated with said needles for holding stitches during the formation of a turned welt, a non-rotating cylinder located inside the needle cylinder, take-up means for pulling knitted fabric downwardly through the last mentioned cylinder,-shafting geared externally to theneedle cylinder and-.said take-up means to drive the latter rotationally with the needle cylinder, means controlling the pulling action of said takeup means, and means carried by the last mentioned cylinder acting. to draw inwardly and downwardly fabric constituting a turned welt.

14. Ina circular knitting machine,.a needle cylinder, needles slidable in said cylinder, means associated with said needles for holding stitches during the formation of a turned welt, a cylinder located inside the needle cylinder, there being relative rotation between the needle cylinder and the last mentioned cylinder, take-up means for pulling knitted fabric downwardly through the last mentioned cylinder, means carried'by the last mentioned cylinder acting to draw .inwardlyand downwardly fabric constituting a turned welt, and means controlling th pulling action of said take-up means. 1 j

15. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, needles slidable in said cylinder, means associated with said needles for'holding stitches during'the formation of a turned welt, a cylinder 'pulling knitted fabric. downwardly through the last mentioned cylinder, and means fixedly car:- ried by the last mentioned cylinder engaging the fabric constituting a turned welt to draw. itinwardly and downwardly.

' ALEXANDER BELFORD.

FRED A. KUSS.

REFERENCES .CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,210,866 Spiers Jan. 2, 1917 2,170,078 Houseman Aug. 22,1939

a needle 

